(Rising to the tops in favorites? That sort of praise is bound to make me lackadaisical when I write, so you'll have to watch that; I'll try to fight it off, though. Thanks for the reviews and here's a shout out to Furubafun24 who was my first, and most consistent, reviewer)
#---
The luscious greens of the forest went unappreciated in the burn of the blonde haired boy's…Near's, eyes. Sweat dripped into his pupils from his brow, his legs ached with each move and his body craved air from lack of any real physical use for so long.
His feet, which were being dragged along the ground for movement, caught themselves on a log and his body went down like an axed tree to the wooden floor.
"Timber!" A voice from behind called. It was filled with a vicious childhood glee reminiscent of the hidden beast in every man's heart, "I guess you can't be number one in everything, huh Near?"
As the owner of the voice passed Near received a pat on his head. He looked up at the assaulter with long blonde hair, a child who would more easily pass off as a girl.
So far Near had five suspects for the poisoning of the kid, and this vicious child, Mello, unfortunately wasn't one of them. This was for the simple fact that he wasn't suave enough to pull off such a discreet poisoning. The others were the other children walking with them (for they were the only children he could watch) and an unknown to account for the improbability of an outsider getting into the house. The strange man in the Wammy house, whom Near expected most of all to be L, and Quillsh were both free of his suspicion.
Near climbed back to his feet and cleaned himself from the dirt and leaves on his legs.
"Oh man!" The brown headed child next to Mello cried, "I left my Gameboy!"
"Oh, learn to deal Matt." Mello responded, "I'm sure we're not taking that long of a flight."
"Still…it will make it go faster. I'm going back to get it. If I run, I'm sure I can catch up."
For just a second both Matt and Mello exchanged a conspirators glance worthy of Brutus and the senators themselves.
"Mello…" Near began "You have another way into the house, don't you?"
"What!! I mean, how could you even assume that!?" Mello cried.
Although he had no proof exactly, Near knew. Mello had another way into the house; it was his intuition based on that look given to Matt and the way Mello moved back in defense that gave him that unshakeable impression.
How can you be so sure? Where's your evidence? Without evidence there is no right conclusion. It was the voice of the strange candy addicted man that invaded his thoughts then like a parent slowly guiding a child when he strayed.
The reaction is proof enough.
"Wammy," Near called out, and the old man turned, "I think you might need to see something."
#---
A few minutes later the number of suspects that Near had for the poisoning had suddenly dropped to only one.
"I mean, come on!" Mello cried, waving his arms like someone trying to guide a plane in for a landing. Only the plane Mello was trying to land on them had already crashed and burned and his words fell on mute ears, "You can't possibly expect someone to find this? I mean, I doubt any outsider could find this tunnel, not even by blind luck!"
Near and the others stood in front of an opening in the hillside that was a smaller replica of how he imagined a hole in a mountain would look for a train to pass through.
He spoke, "Then how did you find it Mello?"
The child put his hands down and grumbled silently to himself.
Wammy pulled out his radio, "Brandon, I think you need to know something."
Only static was returned in reply.
"Brandon?"
"We have to go back." Near announced, his hand once again unconsciously twirling that one strand of blonde hair, "It's strange no one has confronted us yet out here in the woods. Considering that I believe we were being used as some form of trump card that we were taken on this trip and since the one using us as leverage would not just simply walk away he must be preoccupied with something else. Since the only thing to be preoccupied with is in the house itself we must go back and help L."
L? Trump card? Where's your proof? It was the voice of that strange man again (L) acting like the overbearing parent who would nitpick at anything in his child less than perfection.
……
You're getting spoiled because you are always right. You have to learn how to gather evidence to support and guide intuition, not go on intuition alone.
……
"No, we have to get to the airport." Wammy said, but too unsurely, too unbalanced.
Near was a warrior at verbal combat, so seizing the opening he pounced in the moment of indecision.
"That was your plan wasn't it? Plan's change, we have to go back and help…Brandon."
So, with that, the group entered into the tunnels and headed back towards the orphanage.
#---
L stood in the doorway of the backroom of the Wammy house facing out towards the kitchen. He sucked patiently on a Popsicle, waiting.
"Hello." He said to the group as they entered into the kitchen doorway, every one of them creeping cautiously.
That blonde haired kid stared in wide eyed wonderment, "You're alright?"
L shrugged, "I'd have preferred it if you didn't return. But both I and Joseph agreed that you would after I didn't answer the radio."
The blonde haired kid's hand stopped twirling with his hair. His eyes were a bit wider than normal, like a deer's caught in a headlight.
"Who's Joseph?" Wammy asked.
The light in the back room flicked on and a man caught in the land between the dark and the light stood silhouetted in the door frame behind L. He held an object to the back of L's head.
"What, forgotten me already?"
#---
("Is he ending the story prematurely?" You're asking yourself.
Well, just trust me.)